Analysis

Children living in high poverty neighborhoods—a disproportionate number of whom are children of color—are more likely to die from child abuse.

My patients in my clinic in South Los Angeles are children from high poverty areas. However, regardless of where they practice, pediatricians have a critical role in the recognition and prevention of child abuse.

I was in a terrible car accident shortly after my 18th birthday. I had three surgeries that were supposed to help relieve my pain. They didn’t. OxyContin, an opioid pain-relief medication, was my best friend until it was my only friend.

As Sofia’s pediatrician, I couldn’t miss her mother’s overwhelming signs of postpartum depression. It’s a threat to the wellbeing of babies, their mothers and families.

Nationwide, depression affects 10 to 25 percent of all pregnant women during the perinatal period, defined as three months before pregnancy to one year after giving birth. Across California, the rate is about 20 percent, and in Los Angeles County, it’s 26 percent.

Nearly all of my clinic patients in South Los Angeles live at or below the poverty level and many struggle to put food on the table.

Recognizing that too many kids go hungry, the California legislature passed The Feed the Kids Act, Senate bill 138, which goes into effect on January 1. This program will provide school meals to some of the state’s poorest kids.

Last summer, 20-month-old Jasmine was nearly comatose when she was brought to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. It turned out the toddler had eaten cannabis candies that looked like Tootsie Rolls at her grandparents’ house.

Children of color who live in low-income neighborhoods are less likely to receive developmental services than white children with the same diagnosis living in a higher-income area, despite a law mandating state funding for comprehensive care for anyone who qualifies.

As a pediatrician in South L.A., I have cared for many children who were victims of gun violence. Most have recovered, some have lingering psychological trauma and a few have died. When I stop to reflect, it’s always incomprehensible—why are guns a part of children’s lives?

CHIP has historically enjoyed strong bipartisan support, but that’s no longer the case. Without an extension by Sept. 30, millions of children may lose their access to health care, including children in California. The state will be out of money by March 2018 if the program isn’t renewed at the federal level.

California’s new health insurance exchange appears to be gaining momentum with consumers. Officials announced Thursday that 109,000 people had completed the application process and picked a private insurance plan through CoveredCa.com in October and November. About twice as many people completed the process in November as had in October, and the numbers for the first week of December were even higher.